Scenes of the Crime (2002)

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

So what struck me the most about this film is the early morning light that was present throughout. It has that relaxing start-of-the-day feeling that compliments the low-key pace of the story and lack of action in what could have been a pretty brutal film. All the colors are muted as well, the sound track stays in the background, costumes are first-rate, interiors are high-end but restrained, and there are few wild interactions between any of the characters. Moderation in all things, suggesting a reality not based on everyday lives, but of a set of people operating in a parallel world not connected to our own. Then there's the story. At several points, the Universe screams to a character to just walk away from all this and you'll be fine. The longer you stay the more trouble you're getting in to. It's "don't go down the basement," and what do they do? They go down the basement, of course (in the figurative sense). The ending? That is to say, That's it? The only thing the ending added was a change in style. For the first time, we saw a bright, sunny day with shadows and washed-out colors, perhaps to suggest going back to the normal world. But the actual ending. Gosh, there could have been so much more.Good acting, good production, but the resolution is for the birds. When the main plot problem is resolved, and you'll know when it is, you can stop watching.

This show is the "truck" (van) version of the later show called "Phone Booth". A good portion of the film is filmed inside the truck. Casual driver gets involved and is the middle person in between 2 big time mob gangs. Either way, it's the devil or the deep blue sea for him. He would be lucky to walk away with his life. And most of the action is how they act out the "black spy versus white spy" (from MAD magazine) kind of moves. You'd be dying to find out how the entire event is resolved, and this is what makes it interesting to hang on. But watch it to the end! A bit of panties action by the operator of the deli to her husband. If you are hoping for more than just seeing a pair of lacy panties, you'd be disappointed. Story line is fine but can get confusing with all the mob names thrown around all over.

It seems a lot of you missed the point about the dramatic (or anti-climactic ending). Yes, they could have left some of the clues out but then you would have felt manipulated. I thought that the balance between tension and suspense was good considering the what they wanted to show in terms of what actually happened. Nobody knew why they parked where they did, but the dead man was going to see his father, and nobody else knew why they were there or where the man's father was. Watch the film and appreciate it for what it is. The smartest guy does not always win. Jimmy was too bold and his luck ran out. If not, I have no doubts that he could have turned this whole thing in to a win for him.It does make it more interesting knowing that this is based on a true story.

Saw the DVD release of this film recently. I couldn't quite predict the plot outcome until the end - so it gained points for that as well as Jeff Bridges and Noah Wylie's turns as bad guys. I kept wondering if I had seen this earlier and just realized it was similar to "Phone Booth" in that all the action takes place in a van in the street and there is a mystery shooter (at the end). OK for a rental if you don't have anything better to watch.